Two-tone a trendy way to dress up tresses

Saturday

May 17, 2014 at 12:01 AMMay 17, 2014 at 12:07 PM

Sammi Wasson loves her dark-brown hair, but the cold, dark winter left her eager for a change. Instead of lightening all her locks, though, Wasson chose a trendy two-tone look called ombre. Ombre - which blends two or more shades, such as brunet on the top and blond on the bottom - has proved popular since the look started showing up on celebrities in recent years, according to hairstylists in central Ohio.

Sammi Wasson loves her dark-brown hair, but the cold, dark winter left her eager for a change.

Instead of lightening all her locks, though, Wasson chose a trendy two-tone look called ombre.

Ombre — which blends two or more shades, such as brunet on the top and blond on the bottom — has proved popular since the look started showing up on celebrities in recent years, according to hairstylists in central Ohio.

The style allows women to add a pop of color without committing to a drastic change.

“I’ve been platinum blond before, and it was bad,” Wasson, 30, of Grandview Heights, said shortly before a stylist lightened the ends of her hair at Phia Salon in the Short North.

“This way, I can have some highlights that don’t look fake.”

Plus, as her stylist, Marissa Bender, pointed out, the ombre look can be easier to keep up than an allover dye job.

“If you work with your natural color, it’s a lot less maintenance,” said Bender, 25.

Lower maintenance means fewer trips to the salon — and less of a hit to the pocketbook.

Ombre became popular, in part, because of the economic challenges of several years ago, said Sunshine Stricker, who also works at Phia.

“But at this point,” she added, “I think it’s a trend that’s going to stick.”

That remains true at Di?Moda Salons on the Northeast Side.

“We still get calls every day .?.?. from people wanting to do ombre,” said owner Curtis Barnett, who estimated that about 40 percent of the salon’s hair coloring involves ombre.

Bender, who specializes in color at Phia, does some version of ombre on more than half of her coloring clients — with most of the demand, she said, coming from women in their early 20s to their mid-40s.

“I think your hair should be a reflection of how you feel about yourself and what kind of image you want to portray,” said Bender, who wears ombre hair herself. “There’s no real age limit on that.”

And, Bender said, ombre hair seems to flatter most everyone.

“It emulates what the sun would naturally do to your hair,” she said.

The look, though, can be a lot more expensive than the au naturel

approach.

Wasson’s recent hair appointment — including a haircut, highlighting and root retouching — cost her $229, with $121 of that covering the highlights on the ends of her hair.

A salon visit isn’t required for ombre hair, though.

Do-it-yourselfers seeking to copy the style

spotted on celebrities such as Khloe Kardashian and Emma Stone can find ombre-specific coloring options in a box for less than $20.

Stylists maintain that coloring done at a salon will look more natural than any done at home.

“I want it to look like you’ve been out in the sun for a month,” Angie Hatzifotinos, owner of Jekyll and Hyde Hair Salon in the Clintonville neighborhood, told 19-year-old Sloane Prince during a recent ombre appointment.

Prince, who studies political science at Allegheny College in Meadville, Pa., tried ombre about 18 months ago and decided she wanted more blond at the end of her light-brown hair.

“That’s as risky as I get with hair,” Prince said. “It’s not so in-your-face.”

Kaitlin Molchen opted for a less dramatic look, too.

At the Ohio Academy, her friend Kayla Ryan, who is studying cosmetology, faded the tips of Molchen’s dark-brown hair into light brown — for a “sombre,” or subtle ombre.

For Molchen, who graduated last Saturday from the Columbus College of Art & Design with a bachelor’s degree in photography, the slight change provided a way to test the colored waters.

“I’d definitely consider going blond now.”

jnuss@dispatch.com

@jeannienuss

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